Love After War
by Checkered Dragon of Old
Summary: It's always hard when you have a crazy and rather childish fiance, but the young Heartfilia heiress' problems don't stop there. It's 1917 and war is in the air in New York City, and it seems like everyone is breathing it in with gusto. No one is safe. Not even Natsu. My first fic, so reviews are welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Thank you for clicking on this! Happy reading!

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**A/N**: This fic will have about 7 chapters. Each of them from a general viewpoint and the fourth of every month. February 4th, March 4th, April 4th, May 4th, and June 4th, and finally, November 4th. And epilogue chapter will be at the end. This is pretty much an introduction chapter. :3

Disclosure: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of the things mentioned in this writing.

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**_Love After War,_**** a Fairy Tail fanfiction by Checkered Dragon of Old.**

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_February 4__th__, 1917. Brooklyn, New York City. Outside the Heartfilia In-City Mansion._

Her skin was a pale, creamy color, much like the skin of a white ceramic doll. Unlike a ceramic doll's skin, however, her's was soft and well cared for. She had dark chocolate brown eyes and silky shining yellow hair. Not straw-colored or buttercup-colored hair; no, her hair was a beautiful light sandy hue that shone in the sun. Her lips were perfect, perky and pink. Her form, dialect, position of hands, etiquette, and taste in fashion and the like were exquisite. She seemed to be absolutely perfect in every way. Unless you really knew her.

She was a proper young lady, walking the streets with a servant girl companion following her and holding a laced sun umbrella to block the misting rain that was slowly falling toward the earth that day.

"Lady Lucy," the girl protested, "Please slow down!"

The lady slowed, a thin smile revealing to the world her light countenance, but to a chosen few her intolerance.

"I'm sorry your poor, short legs cannot keep up with mine," she said happily, the curls that had been secured around under her tilted pink fringed hat coming a bit loose.

"Oh, screw it Lucy, what's with the hair today?"

The lady jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned in the direction it came from, which was her right, and saw her fiancé, Natsu Dragneel. He was from a distinguished family who had received their wealth from overseas. Her own family had gotten it's wealth from a business endeavor her father had taken in his thirties. She grimaced, her mask cracking, at the memory.

Natsu noticed her blunder and quickly sought to overturn it by introducing a topic for conversation.

"I see you're as beautiful as ever today," he said cheerfully, taking her white gloved hands in his own and bringing her closer. The girl, previously known as the umbrella holder, raised her blue eyebrows and started returning to the mansion. Perhaps Lucy would tolerate Natsu today.

"And you are as charming as ever," she returned sweetly, smiling. A bead of sweat appeared on Natsu's pink brow. Hell, she was irritated. Ignoring this clear signal, he released her left hand and wrapped her right around his arm.

"Shall we take a walk, then?"

"Of course. Where to?"

"I was thinking we could go see the pictures of the War…"

Lucy pretend-huffed, "Oh, Natsu, I hope you aren't thinking of joining the army. America has not even joined the War, and on top of that, you aren't of age."

"I only wanted to look at the pictures," he protested, grinning down at her.

"Well, I guess it is okay then."

Their little façade was quite entertaining to the crowds surrounding them. They were entering the poorer part of the city, and with it, they dropped their masks. Their true selves could fully be let free here. She let go of his arm and let her hair out. He pulled his cap from his pocket and placed it lopsided on his head, threw his pocket watch to some kid, and lit a cigarette.

"That smoke will kill you someday," Lucy said, contempt dripping from her voice. Her walking was less about keeping her posture and more about getting somewhere.

"Just 'cause you're my fiancé doesn't mean you can tell me what t' do," he drawled in a lazy accent that he adopted when his tutor or father wasn't watching.

She slipped her ladylike manner of speaking and dropped it somewhere far behind her. "Yeah right, asshat." She reached up and tipped his hat so that she caught it as it fell. She used it to replace her missing laced bonnet.

Silence for a moment. "Usually you protest when I steal your hat and call you an asshat."

"Guess I jus' don't feel like it today, ya know what I mean?"

"Uh huh."

"So are you really going to join the army Natsu?" There was a small bit of worry in her voice. Like always, Natsu ignored it. It was probably forced and fake, just like the rest of her. He loved it, though.

"Nope," he lied. Truth was he was planning on joining the military as soon as Congress declared war. He couldn't wait to go and prove to the Germans that they were dead men.

"Natsu, the only reason I say so is because you are definitely set on going, no matter how many times you lie and tell me you don't plan to. This war is simple something Europe is dealing with. It has nothing to do with you." She liked to pretend that she didn't care, but if he died, she'd be devastated. She may be forcefully engaged to him, but that didn't mean that she didn't like him at least a little bit.

"Who says you know anything! We're stuck here being pussies while there's a war, a real war, going on across the damn ocean. I say we join the war. Those damn Germans can go to Hell for killing innocent people. All I've ever known is this war. Ever since I was fourteen…" Natsu trailed off. Lucy's eyebrows scrunched together. He glanced down at her.

"Your face will freeze that way."

"Shut up."

"I'll shut you up with a kiss like I did last week."

Their playful arguments always seemed to stem from that.

Obviously fake gasp. "You wouldn't _dare_!"

"Come here, my Lucy darling, come let me smooch you right here in public!"

"Oh, Heavens, Natsu. Shame on you and get away from me! I'm a virgin! You can't go around doing _things_ to me!"

"Stop playing the victim here! I, the supreme commander of whoever controls the world, order you to lay down so I may ravish you right here on the sidewalk!"

"You savage dog!"

"You lil' bi-"

"A_hem_."

They both froze in their positions. Natsu had previously been relentlessly tickling Lucy, having her pinned up against a brick wall in the alleyway. He hadn't even cared if anyone saw. Nobody cared in this part of town. But the voice that had interrupted them was enough to pause his thought process. He jumped away from Lucy and spit out the cigarette in his mouth.

It was Mr. Jiemma Eucliffe, a giant in the business world, and in size. He loomed over the young teenagers.

"The Dragneel heir… and his fiancé, the lovely lady Heartfilia." He said Dragneel like it was made of spit. In contrast, he purred out Heartfilia like it was a buttered croissant that was drizzled with honey.

"Uh, yes, sir," Natsu said, avoiding eye contact.

"You, young man, would do well to avoid any sort of _physical contact _for the time being, until you are married. _If _you are married," Jiemma snorted at Natsu. He then smiled at Lucy, making sure to mention that his son, Sting, would love to see her again, and then left.

"So much for avoiding the rich crowd in public," Lucy muttered, rubbing her bare arms with her gloves. Natsu removed his coat and put it over her shoulders, sensing her unease and chill.

"And I spit my last cigarette out, too. Damn."

"I'll buy you a cigar," she decided, picking up his hat from it's fallen place on the ground.

"A Viscount?" he asked, a little bit of childish hope in his eyes.

"Yes. Whatever you want," she grinned, "But I'm not the one who did any of this, right? And you gotta promise me that this is the last cigar you'll have for the rest of the month."

"Yeah! Of course. Now let's go get it!"

"But after, straight home!" she declared, raising a finger toward the sky.

"No messing with homeless people?" he asked.

"Nope. That Sting asshole is not going to marry me. If we get in trouble again my father will probably break the engagement…"

"Oh, but Lucccyyy, your lips are so soft! I couldn't imagine some jackass kissing them!"

Her cheeks heated up at the mention of it. "Oh, shut your huge mouth. Let's go get your cigar."

Times like these were joyous, but few. She wished there were more of them. But the war was getting worse and America was likely to get involved. She hoped they wouldn't. Nothing would stop Natsu from enlisting, but that was exactly what she didn't want. She was afraid he'd just off and leave her. She was afraid of losing him.

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So how was it? I'd appreciate any thoughts you have. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Here's the second chapter!

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_March 4__th__, 1917. Manhattan Island, New York City. The Dragneel In-City Mansion._

"Well some things never change, that's for sure," whispered the red-haired bodyguard. Her maid outfit fit tightly, but there was no way anyone was going to take advantage of her with that steel look in her eyes. Lucy stood next to her, leaning against one of the the wallpapered hallways of the Dragneel Estate. She shrugged at the redhead.

"I am inclined to feel indifferent on the matter. It's not like I can do anything about it," she admitted, examining her fingernails.

"But he's been like this all morning. He won't let anyone in his room…"

"FUCKING MEXICANS!"

Lucy winced as she heard Natsu screaming from the other room. He'd become very involved in foreign and domestic politics. She sighed shakily. This unnerved her.

"I don't know about you, milady, but I have a mind to put his head in the right place," muttered Erza, the redheaded bodyguard, currently pulling up her sleeves in preparation for combat.

Lucy's hands were instantly on her shoulders, consoling her. "Calm down, please. I… I'll go talk to him." She didn't sound convincing, but then again, her goal wasn't to convince herself.

Erza straightened. "I understand. I will be out here if you need me. Just call, please."

With a tight smile, Lucy knocked on the door.

"WHO THE HELL IS IT?" More banging on his expensive wooden door.

"It's your fiancé, nutcase!" she yelled through the door. The heavy breathing sounds coming from the other side of the door stopped abruptly.

"Lucy?" asked a hoarse voice. Definitely Natsu's.

"Of course it's me. Who else would it be? Now let me in," she tried sounding soft, as she often did inside the house.

The door opened slowly, just a crack. Lucy slipped through, taking care to make sure the door stayed open long enough for her to actually get all the way in. The door slammed shut behind her, the loud, sharp sound making her jump. She closed her eyes and sighed. Natsu's angry footsteps led over to his bed, where she heard him flop down. She opened her eyes.

Natsu held his arm over his eyes, his facing up and toward the high-class chandelier on the ceiling of his posh room. Lucy stepped slowly toward him, making certain to avoid a creaky wooden floorboard and sat down on his soft bed beside him.

"Natsu," she said, her voice softer than normal when they were alone. Usual habits of screaming and name calling were strangely disappearing gradually.

"What is it?" His voice cracked a little, probably from him screaming himself hoarse about those 'damn Mexicans'. Her fingertips brushed the forearm over his eyes as she leaned over him. He didn't react.

"I know you're upset," she admitted, still lightly dragging her fingers over his arm like she was painting something, "But there are bigger things to worry about than Mexicans."

He opened his mouth to protest but she put her other arm's index finger over his mouth, silencing him. "If we go to war, you can join the military." She gulped, dread settling over her. That was not what she was planning on saying.

"What?" he asked, his voice still scratchy. His arm muscles tensed under her soft fingertips.

She blinked back regretful tears and looked out the window of his room. "Yes, you can join the damn army. I'm letting you. That doesn't mean your parents will let you, though. I speak for myself."

The next moment she was pulled down halfway on top of him. Her breath hitched in her throat, her hands pressed up against his warm chest.

"N-natsu?" she squeaked, pushing against his chest in a vain attempt to get up, but he held her fast with his one arm. The other was still over his eyes. He lifted it and wrapped it around her waist, gazing deeply into her brown eyes.

"I really kinda like you, Lucy…" he whispered

"Well thank you for pointing out the obvious," she drawled sarcastically.

"No, I mean it this time."

"Y-you're just saying that because our engagement is in danger."

"I don't care about what your parents say anyway," he huffed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Someone began pounding on the door to Natsu's room, relentlessly knocking. They heard Lucy's father's voice yelling.

"LUCY HEARTFILIA ARE YOU IN THERE?! GET OUT RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

"Like hell," Lucy muttered reaching out and tracing Natsu's jawline. The right side of his mouth curved up in a smile. Her hand rested on the side of his face.

"You should evacuate the premises before he steals you," he mused, leaning into her soft palm.

"We should go see a musical at that theater that opened last month," Lucy whispered, "We could pretend we were running away but come back late at night."

"Should we leave a note?"

"No, nobody cares anyway, except my father. And he doesn't even care about _me, _he just cares about how I am going to marry someone."

"Yeah, and that engagement could be put in danger if we disappear."

"Since when have we ever cared about that?"

"You have a point."

"So… are we going to leave my poor father knocking on your door all day, hoping his daughter isn't engaging in inappropriate activities?" she asked, tracing his face again. Retaliation necessary, he began curving her hair around the outer edge of her ear.

"There's a lower rooftop outside my window," he breathed.

"Perfect."

He shifted her off of him and she flopped down to sit next to him. "Your father is going to kill me," he insisted, nudging her softly with his elbow.

"You've always been good at evading death. It's just another try at it," she mumbled, sticking her elbow out to stop his.

"Right then. Let's go jump out of a window."

"Wondrous. Sounds romantic."

"Of course."

Jude Heartfilia finally managed, with the half-hearted help of a certain red-haired maid/bodyguard, to break down the door. To the surprise of them both, there was nobody in the room. Erza had expected to see them making out on the bed or something, and Jude expected Natsu to be pinning his poor darling Lucy to the wall or something. Instead, one of the large windows was wide open, and the curtains had been ripped out of their holders.

_LAW_

"So what show are we seeing?" Natsu panted, running over one of the rust-colored rooftops and preparing to jump over to the next one. The wind whistled in his ears and blew his hair in his face, so he brushed it aside to look back at Lucy.

"I don't remember what it's _called_," the blond muttered, "It premiered recently, and I want to see it…"

"Ah, okay."

They scrambled over a few more rooftops before stopping and looking down over the streets of New York City. Lucy could hear the chugging sounds from the sweatshop across the road and she could see the smog pouring from the cracks in the ceiling from the machines inside.

"Damn rich people," Natsu grumbled, glaring down at the building. Lucy squinted her eyes at him.

"Did you forget that you're one of those damned rich people?" she asked, irritation evident in her gaze.

"Oh shut up. I'm not really rich, my father is. Same with you."

"True, but we're still considered one of the pack."

"I hate being one of the pack, though," he insisted, "It sounds like we're a group of wolves."

"Nobody hates being in a families like ours more than _us_," she agreed, making it clear that he wasn't the only one miserable, "And wolves is probably a good comparison."

It was silent for a moment more. Lucy broke it, like usual.

"Anyway, let's head down there. We have a musical to see, just like the privileged brats we are."

_LAW_

The musical was a disappointment. Natsu was distracted by the fact that all of the actors were the same as the last musical he'd seen. Lucy just hated singing in general, probably because she was terrible at it. The pink-haired boy wondered why they'd escaped in the first place. Just as the ending song was winding down, he stared at the girl, his fiancé, sitting next to him. Was this all a gesture from her? Bah. He wouldn't have to worry about such things, soon.

He was waiting for this war to start.

Lucy had different ideas. Even from a young age she'd been exposed to violence; the idea of more fighting, though it was far from the homeland, wasn't something she wanted to see. She realized, as she watched the actors dance around the stage, that this sappy example of an ancient romance was ignorant of the real world. War and death, no matter how sarcastic or happy she acted, was always on her mind, and she wasn't about to let someone that mattered to her go and throw himself away to something like it.

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Thanks for readingggg! The next chapter should be out soon.


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